Abstract
BackgroundHigh medical expenditures serve as a major obstacle for many people trying to access healthcare. Our goals are to provide an updated and comprehensive description of each category of medical expenditure in inpatient and outpatient treatment, and to identify factors associated with medical expenditures.MethodsA survey of the middle-aged and elderly was conducted in August 2016 in Beijing, China. Data were collected from 808 random samples. Each participant had reported at least one inpatient or outpatient treatment episode and was 45 years old or older, were collected. Chi-squared tests, t-tests, multivariate analysis, and a linear regression were conducted in the data analysis.ResultsA total of 452 and 734 subjects had at least one inpatient and outpatient treatment, respectively. Even though insurance covered a significant amount of the total cost, the remaining out-of-pocket cost was still high, possibly resulting in financial difficulties for a number of the subjects. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were found to be associated with various costs.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the government may need to further adjust health care and health insurance systems to alleviate financial burdens caused by illness and improve the effective utilization of healthcare services.
Highlights
High medical expenditures serve as a major obstacle for many people trying to access healthcare
We aimed to identify factors associated with medical expenditure among the middle-aged and elderly (45 years old and above)
This study is one of a series of survey studies conducted under the China Survey on Pension and Healthcare (CSPH), which is a collaborative effort managed by Renmin University of China (RUC) and the Yale School of Public Health [31,32,33]
Summary
High medical expenditures serve as a major obstacle for many people trying to access healthcare. Our goals are to provide an updated and comprehensive description of each category of medical expenditure in inpatient and outpatient treatment, and to identify factors associated with medical expenditures. In 2005, all of the World Health Organization member states committed to achieving universal health coverage, with the goal being to provide affordable, cost-effective, and equitable healthcare for all people [1, 2]. An understanding of the perceived barriers to healthcare is critical for improving healthcare access and attaining universal health coverage. One of the most common barriers to health care delivery that has been noted in the literature is high costs [3]. The heavy burden of medical expenditure has been viewed as a major obstacle to accessing health care. One is that the increase in medical expenditure has exceeded
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